Stampin' and Scrappin' With Kristin

What Have I Been Up To?

Where were my posts last week?  Well, I've been busy.  VERY busy!!!  I'm starting a Wedding Invitation Design Business.  When the girls at work saw my wedding invitations, they told me that I "missed my calling".  I told them....oh no I didn't, I'm just trying to catch up with it!  I chose a name for my company over a year ago.  It's something that's always sat on my back burner.  BUT, after planning everything for my own wedding, I'm launching it on May 9th!

So, on top of designing my projects for classes and my blog, I've been busy making samples for my first bridal show.  I also made 250 sample cards to be placed in each of the brides' gift bags at the show.  I also put together a door prize - including 40 handstamped Thank You cards, a scrapbook it, and one of the fabulous Mini Note Kits in the back of the catalog.

What do 250 cards look like?  I'll give you a peek....  Want to see the final design?  Well, you'll have to attend the bridal show!  It's on May 9th from 10am - 3pm.  It's being held at the First Church of the Nazarene in Vineland, NJ.  There are over 45 vendors, food tasting, fashion show, and ME!  They have a really awesome building and have put a lot of hard work into the show.

Below is the door prize all of the brides can register to win!

My Wedding Pictures

Okay, okay....here they are!  Or at least some of them!  To view all of our photographer's photos, click here.  But, here's a sampling - including some of the favors and place cards I haven't yet posted.  Enjoy!!!

 

Here's a sample of the place cards.  They were the inspiration to the programs.  I embossed vellum card stock using the Big Shot!  It's layered over Soft Sky, Whisper White, and Chocolate Chip.  I also used the Big Shot to make the Chocolate Chip frame around the names.  They stood up in those cute wine cork holders - most people didn't realize they were part of the place card.  But, once word got out, they were scooped up quickly!!!
 

I love the photo of our favors.  A professional takes such a better picture than I ever could!  I used the Big Shot to make the box out of Chocolate Chip Card Stock.  I wrapped retired Soft Sky Ribbon around the box and used a label from the Big Shot and the Large Oval Punch to make the labels.  Custom M&Ms were placed inside!
 

Here's a peek at the detail on our cake.  I thought it looked like Soft Sky DSP!  If you remember, back in December, Mike and I went down to Charm City Cakes in Baltimore (made popular by Food Network).  I gave them samples of Soft Sky Card Stock and they matched the colors perfectly!  But, in this photo you can also see the candles I decorated with Soft Sky DSP and narrow chocolate chip ribbon.  Each person got one.
 

Here's a full photo of our cake.  It was SO GOOD!!!  The flowers on the cake are the really impressive part.  They're made of sugar and have an insane amount of detail.  My favorite part just might be the chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon wrapped around each tier! 

I LOVED my flowers.  Here's a close-up of one of the girl's bouquets.  I thought the hydrangeas coordinated with Soft Sky so well.

 

Take a close look at the middle of our gift table - that's not a gift.  That's our box for cards.  My mother found the white box for a couple of bucks at a Party Supply Store.  I applied a Decor Element in Chocolate Chip around the corner - totally coordinated with the programs, wine lists, menus, and place cards.  I wonder if anyone noticed!
 

Our reception was in a log cabin with a loft.  Here's a look down onto one of the tables.  They had brown overlays accented with light blue.  Our chairs also had brown "ribbon" wrapped around each.

Wedding Program Cover Revisited - Manhattan Floral and Vellum!!!

You may remember a few days ago I posted my wedding program.  If you read my blog, you know I wasn't overly thrilled with the cover - I thought it needed more layers.  So, as the week went on, I started designing my place cards using the new Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Die.  Well, I started to think my place cards were nicer than my programs.  Back to the drawing board I went, and here's what I came up with.  I LOVE IT!!!  There were a few more steps, but easier steps.  Everyone fell in love with the Big Shot (of course).  We had to make 125 programs and around 50 place cards.  Unfortunately, I only had about 80 sheets of cardstock vellum on hand so I had to expedite ANOTHER order this week to finish the programs.

Anyway, back to the cover.  I ran a sheet of Vellum cardstock through the Big Shot in the Manhattan Floral Impressions Die.  I used SNAIL to adhere it to a layer of Soft Sky DSP (thankfully I had an extra 15 packs sitting around).  The brown satin ribbon hides the adhesive nicely!  The soft sky dsp is on a layer of chocolate chip cardstock over a layer of whisper white cardstock, then adhered to the chocolate chip cardstock base.

You may remember that the original version was bound with white ribbon.  Well, we all thought the ribbon on the side fought with the ribbon on the cover.  It was really only cosmetic.  The pages of the program are really held in place with sticky strip anyway.  So, we easily eliminated the ribbon.  Have I mention that I LOVE the result???  The inside contents haven't changed.

I'd highly recommend checking back regularly this week - I have lots to share.  There will be 100 votive candles decorated with chocolate chip and soft sky by Elaine!  There will be place cards - which are gorgeous!  Then there's the gift card box for the reception gift table.  I'll give ya a hint - Decor Elements!!!  I LOVE the way Stampin' Up! coordinates EVERYTHING!  There will be table names and probably several other wedding-related projects you won't want to miss!!!  Use the "Wedding" link at the bottom of this post to view all of my wedding-related projects!  Enjoy!

Wedding Programs

Well, I'm just about finished with the prototype of the Wedding Program.  I'm really happy with the way everything turned out.  But I keep wondering if the cover should have more layers!!! 

I really wanted the program to be a keepsake, not just some piece of paper in black and white.  So, here's what I did!!!

The cover of the program is 6x12 Chocolate Chip Cardstock.  I scored the cardstock a 1/4 inch "spine".  I stamped the rose from Fifth Avenue Floral in Silver Encore Ink then embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I preferred the more detailed look to the sterling silver embossing powder.  I printed the "title" on Whisper White Cardstock and added a couple of layers of Chocolate Chip and Soft Sky.  I popped it up with some dimensionals as well.

The inside cover and first page are my favorites!  I read in a magazine on a flight to Florida about a couple who included a tissue in their wedding program with a sentiment "Just in Case".  I knew I had to copy that idea as well!!!  I'm not sure if the tissues are going to be for my guests or for me.  I may need the hundred or so tissues floating around the church that day!!!  I created a pocket for my tissue with a separate piece of Chocolate Chip Cardstock adhered with sticky strip.  I stamped the silver image from the Gallery Stamp Set in Encore Ink and embossed it with Clear Embossing powder.  I then printed and punched the sentiment in Whisper White Cardstock and popped it up with a dimensional.

The first page is the best!!!  I haven't decided if everyone is going to get the same engagement picture of Mike and I or if I'm going to mix it up a bit!  Again, I used the rose from Fifth Avenue Floral in Soft Sky Ink.

I didn't include pictures from pages 2-4.  There's no stamping and nothing real special about them. Pages 2-3 are the program details.  Page 4 is the listing of the bridal party and wedding participants. 

I do love the back cover.  When I saw the Once Upon a Time stamp set in the new catalog,  I just knew I had to work the "...and they lived happily ever after" sentiment into my wedding stuff somehow.  So, I stamped it in Silver Encore Ink as well and heat embossed it with clear powder.

The program is "bound" using the new Whisper White Organza ribbon.

Wedding Favors

Yesterday was the first of my three, final Wedding Craft Days.  Several of us sat down and finished the favors.  We also made lots of progress on the Wine Lists and Menus (from my previous post). 

Here's a picture of one of the adorable favors.  We made 100.  The Big Shot really makes it easy to mass-produce boxes and tags!!!  I used the new Box #2 Die for the box.  And, I used one of the tags from the Stampin' Up! exclusive Sizzlits pack - Lots of Tags.  This favor was inspired by one shown at Leadership.  I immediately knew this would be my favor.  However, originally I had planned to close the box, but I think I like it better open - more chocolate fits inside!!!

I wrapped up about 3 ounces of custom-printed M&Ms in a cello bag and tied it with Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon.   I had NO idea custom-printed M&Ms were SO expensive!!!  I ordered 20 pounds thinking a little less than half would be leftover that I could display in an apothecary jar at the reception - wrong.  I have less than 1 sandwich bag full of M&Ms left!!!

To make the box, I found that using 12x12 Chocolate Chip cardstock, cut in half, was the most efficient use of paper.  One of my co-workers, Heather, ran all of the boxes through the Big Shot!  What I like most about this box is that you only need about 1 inch of sticky strip to hold it together!!!  The labels are Soft Sky (boy, I miss that color).  The ribbon is double-stitched Soft Sky ribbon and wraps around the entire box.

Finally, I printed the labels on Whisper White cardstock.  Now, if you've been watching closely, I'm trying to be very consistent with the fonts I'm using on all of the wedding stuff.  I'm only using two.  Do you think anyone will really notice my attention to detail???  Who cares!  I'm having fun.

I need to thank LOTS of people for their help in making my favors!  I already mentioned that Heather cut the boxes and most of the tags.  Elaine cut the remaining tags and assembled more than half of the boxes!!!  She's been a huge help - taking things home and making them in the evenings!!!  Her 8-year old friend, Erin, was also a huge help and filled all of the bags of chocolate.  My mom tied most of the bags.  And, I can't forget some of my other co-workers, Amanda and Jo-Anna, who helped to assemble boxes too!!! 

Wedding Menus

If you've been following along with me as I design all of the "paper elements" for our wedding, here's the next installment.  On Sunday I designed the Wine List and the Menu that will be at every place setting.  We've invited 97 people to the wedding.  We've gotten back 30% of the responses so far.  No one has said "no".  There are two people, however, who have chosen not to bring a guest.  So I'm down to 95. And, several people are rescheduling events just so that they can attend.  How flattering is that!??!?!

Yes, they're tied together using the same brown ribbon as the invitations.  I bought 300 yards of it...yes, yards.  Translated - I could stretch it the length of three football fields.  I love ribbon.  In fact, my friends started making notes of the special ribbon some of my shower gifts were wrapped with along with the types of gifts that were given!!!  For example, my parents gave me "Williams Sonoma Ribbon & Cannister Set".  Yes, they were listed in that order!

Anyway, the first document is the wine list.  You may remember that Mike proposed at a winery.  Well, we have decided to serve wine from that winery at the wedding.  There will be no open bar.  In fact, there will be no other alcohol at the wedding except for the wine that is served with the meal.  We made a special trip down to Virginia in December to purchase several varieties of wine - one of which is currently sold out.  I'm glad we bought it when we did!!!  So, we are listing the three varieties of wine along with the winemaker's notes so people can pair them with their meals if they choose.

Want to see more of my wedding stuff?  Just use the links below and click on the "Wedding" Category to view the other items I've made so far.

The second document is the actual menu.  We're having a buffet and I couldn't begin to list all of the appetizers, salads, or desserts that will be available.  But, I needed a menu!!!  I need to blow through two more packs of my precious Soft Sky Card Stock!  The menus actually coordinate nicely with the programs.  You'll have to wait to see them.  They're still in the development phase.  But, the Fifth Avenue Floral Stamp Set images will be featured throughout the wedding day items.  I've considered purchasing a bunch of the Manhattan Flowers Decor Elements in Chocolate Chip as well....I just need to figure out where to tie them in!!!  Too bad the reception is being held inside a log cabin.  I'd try applying them to the walls if they let me!!!

Did you notice the Organza Ribbon on the menu?  Yup....I'm dying it Soft Sky.  Isn't it gorgeous???  Let's see...I have to dye about 30 yards of it!!!  I actually think I'll be switching the ribbons on the menu and the wine list so that when the documents are tied together, the Soft Sky is in the middle.  Oh, and yes, I know there are typos on the menu.  It's just the prototype.  But, feel free to point any out!!!  I could use all the proof-readers I can get.  So far I know Flounder is spelled wrong!

Stay tuned.  The wedding is less than five weeks away and there's still much to be stamped!!!

Wedding Shower Thank You Cards

 

So, I think I'm just about done my wedding invitations.  You thought I was already done, right?  Well, I had some finishing touches to add to a few.  Thank you all for all of your wonderful comments.  I loved reading each and everyone one of them!  Did you miss them?  Click here to check them out!

In the meantime, I designed the thank you cards for the bridal shower last week.  Not too bad considering I was out of town for half of last week, right????  Oh, and I had that big yard sale Saturday with a line that stretched through more than one room!!!  It was crazy, but I loved seeing all of you who stopped by.  I miss seeing you each month at my classes....speaking of which...look for details on February 1st!  I've got tons of things planned for April once all of this wedding craziness is over.  Some even have long-distance options!!!

So, back to the shower thank yous.  Here are the supplies I used to make this card:

• Bella Toile Background Stamp
• Beautiful Borders Background Stamp
• Shimmery White Cardstock
• Soft Sky Cardstock
• Chocolate Chip Cardstock
• Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware
• Designer Label Punch
• Ticket Corner Punch
• Brown Satin Ribbon (non-SU)
• Soft Sky Classic Ink (retired)
• Chocolate Chip Classic Ink

Now, most of you know that I own just about everything in the catalog.  Can I tell you, it was HARD finding a Thank You sentiment that matched the mood of this card that also fit in that stupid piece of hardware?  I think I can admit that I totally forgot about the Beautiful Borders stamp set!!!  I actually went through each and every stamp set to find Thank Yous.  I was starting to get really, really worried that I wouldn't have one.

Did you also notice that the background stamp on the thank you matches the background of the invitation?  I need to give a shout-out to my fellow demonstrator, Alison!  She gave me an Engagement Card that looks very close to my thank you - that was my inspiration.  I loved it.  It was actually because of her card that I'm using Bella Toile!

Shower Favors and Invites

Thanks for all of your wonderful comments about my invites.  I'm SO flattered!  I thought I'd share with you what my friends made for my shower.  I don't have many pictures since someone else had the camera, but I did take a few photos of the invitations and favors when I got them home.

You may remember that Mike proposed at a winery.  So, my friends used this as the theme for my shower.  It was fabulous!  You should see the cake!  I'll post a picture once I get a copy of it!  They decorated mini bottles of sparkling cider with adorable tags.  Julie tells me the ribbon is from Martha Stewart.  It coordinated perfectly with the soft sky!!!  I also love how she tied them in with the shower invites using the white, heat-embossed flowers.

Kelly made the invites.  She LOVES heat embossing.  She jumped at the opportunity to heat emboss all of the wedding invitations!  Aren't the shower invitations fabulous!  She framed one for me.  She used the Spring Solitude Level 2 Hostess Set from a few catalogs ago.  Love it but don't have it??  Maybe you should stop by my craft room sale this Saturday - I have a few left.  Okay, back to the shower invites...she also used Close to Cocoa Cardstock, Soft Sky Cardstock, Whisper White Cardstock, Chocolate Chip Wide Grosgrain Ribbon, Versamark, White Embossing Powder, and the Heat Tool.

Here's a close-up photo of the bottle tags - is that the correct term?  As usual, you can always click on the images to view them larger.  Enjoy!

My Wedding Invitations

Well, you've all been waiting!  I'm pleased to say that the invitations are done....well, just about.  I hand-delivered over half of them today at my shower.  I just have to fix about 5 that need an element that may need to be restamped.

Ten of my friends came by yesterday to make them.  Ten people were here for 6 hours.  If you do the math, that's 60 man hours.  That doesn't include the four or five hours I already put in cutting the supplies and designing everything before yesterday.  My Matron of Honor and I also spent another 4 hours finishing them up last night.  So, let's say that it took 75 hours (but it was probably more) to make my 50 invitations.  That's an average of 1.5 hours per invitation!!!  YIKES!!!  I counted.  There are 20 pieces of cardstock that make up each invitation and response card combination. 

Everyone seemed to like them today.  The general consensus was that they'd never seen anything quite like it.  That's a compliment, right???

Here are the supplies that were used to make everything:
- Soft Sky Card Stock
- Soft Sky Classic Ink
- Close to Cocoa Card Stock
- Wild Wasabi Classic Ink
- Jet Black Stazon Ink
- Blender Pens
- Aqua Painter
- Chocolate Chip Card Stock
- Whisper White Card Stock
- Shimmery White Card Stock
- Versamark Ink
- Silver Embossing Powder
- Heat Tool
- Embossing Buddy
- Stamp-a-Ma-Jig
- Light Table
- Priceless Classy Brass Template
- Crafter's Tool Kit
- Bella Toile Background Stamp
- Together Forever Stamp Set
- To Have & To Hold Stamp Set
- Priceless Stamp Set
- Bloomin' Beautiful Stamp Set
- Kind Thoughts Stamp Set
- Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon
- White Ribbon (non-SU)
- Brown Satin Ribbon (non-SU)
- Pewter Tissue Paper
- CD Inserts
- 6x6x2 Chocolate Box
- Satin Hydrangeas
- Floral Wire
- Floral Tape
- Lots and Lots and Lots of SNAIL Adhesive
- Dimensionals
- Small Tag Punch
- Tag Punch
- 1/8 Circle Punch
- Silver Elastic Cord

I think that covers it!!!   Here are a few pictures of us assembling the cards.  And, one of my favorites - the boxes, side-by-side with their pretty bows!  I'll be stamping address labels for those that will be mailed.  Hopefully I can get them out in the next week.

Now it's onto the favors, programs, menus, wine lists, table decor, place-cards, thank you notes, and anything else that I can come up with.  Only problem is...I've set the bar high!!!  UGH.

 

Invitation Assembly Day Teaser

Tomorrow's the day!!!  Eleven of us are sitting down to assemble my wedding invitations!!!  I can't wait to see them all!  I've been cutting paper for hours.  I've lost track of just how many packs of paper I've opened - and I'm not done yet!!!  Heck, I still have to finish designing the response card!  But, I thought I'd give you a quick teaser!  Here's my classroom - turned assembly line.  Here we're set up for the front cover of my invitation!!!  There are 7 steps just on the front cover!  I promise to post a finished sample later this weekend.  Thankfully, we only have to make 50!

Where Have I Been?

Well, I've been planning my wedding!  I've also had 4 stampin' classes since my last post and stamped about 50 cards and made a couple of scrapbook pages!  But, I thought I'd share with you my first - and definitely not last - wedding stamping project! 

I had an inkling that Mike and I would be married when the retired list was out last year, so I stocked up on Soft Sky paper and ink refills!  I knew I wanted a Chocolate Chip and Soft Sky wedding!  I couldn't wait to sit down and plan my invitations and favors and thank yous and anything else I could think to stamp.  So, first up...the Save the Dates.  I don't really need to send them out, but I wanted an excuse to send something.  My Save the Dates are actually made with Close to Cocoa, Soft Sky, and Whisper White Cardstock - I wasn't liking the contrast with the Chocolate Chip, although I did use Chocolate Chip Taffeta.  I ran the text through my printer in brown ink.  I stamped one of my favorite images from Bloomin' Beautiful stamp set on Shimmery White Cardstock in Jet Black Stazon.  I then used the blender pens to apply Soft Sky, Garden Green, and Close to Cocoa.  Yes, I'm cutting them all out and popping them up with dimensionals.  I have about 20 stamped and 6 cut.....a long way to go!  I like the simplicity of them - and they're just a card front.   

What else have I gotten done since last Monday?

• Picked the wedding date
• Secured the church
• Secured my first choice in photographer
• Secured a reception location
• Met with and selected my florist - including designing all of the flower arrangements (hydrangeas...which dictated the flower image on the Save-the-Date)
• Just about finalized the guest list
• Bought my wedding dress
• Designed my wedding cake
• Designed my Invitations...you'll have to wait to see them!
• Designed my favors...stay tuned for those as well

I guess those are the big things...the honeymoon?  Thank you Stampin' Up! - they're sending us to Hawaii for free for two weeks!!!  Well, they're sending us for one week, and thanks to lots of hotel points, we'll be staying an extra week..absolutely free.

No Card, But a Story.....

...I was hopeful, but not expecting to share this story so soon.  A lot of you heard me talk about how I'd announce this - with a card, well, the card didn't get made....I wasn't expecting it.

As most of you know, Mike and I went to Virginia this weekend - we're still here.  It's a special place for us.  I fell in love with Mike just about a year ago on this same trip.  When we were looking at my stamping schedule about a month or so ago, we realized that there were no stamping events planned for this weekend.  So, we decided to make one last trip to Virginia this year over Columbus Day weekend.  We are members of a case club at our favorite winery - Marterella.  As members of the case club, we get to enjoy wine and pizza out on their patio every Friday and Saturday night under the stars.  After much traffic, we arrived.  I needed a drink!  We took advantage of our complimentary tastings since they've released a lot of new wine since our last trip in June.  We ordered our pizza and took seats outside by the fire.  Mike ran to the car to get his cell phone because the Phillies were playing game two of the NCLS championship.  About 20 minutes later I looked over at the expression on Mike's face and realized last night was the night!  I saw him fumbling inside his coat pocket and knew my ring was in there.  The next few moments are a blur - probably because I was crying so much.  But, he specifically wanted to here because he knew this is where I fell in love with him a year ago.  It was perfectly romantic out there - under the stars....eating our pepperoni pizza!  I cried for awhile...maybe I'll stop crying next week.  But, one of the winery's workers noticed I was crying and asked if I was okay.  I explained that we'd just gotten engaged.  Well, it didn't take long for word to spread.  Kate, the owner of the winery brought us a bottle of champagne a friend of hers makes.  It was delicious - of course I've been carting the bottle around ever since.  I want it at our wedding!  We also know we want Marterlla Wines at our wedding.  The next hour or so we called (and texted) friends and family to spread the word.  I could have been on the phone for hours, but wanted to spend time with my finace!  So, we cuddled up around the fire, visited with new friends, and enjoyed an absolutely glorious evening.

I was surprised.  I had almost ruled out this weekend.  But, if it was going to happen this weekend, I expected it tonight.  He was so determined to go out to a nice dinner tonight.  But, now I look back and realize he was pretty determined to look nice last night.  Apparently getting the phone out of the car was a ploy - he had to get the ring which had been sitting in my map pocket since arriving at the hotel a few hours earlier.  But, the box was too big and he thought I'd notice the bulge in his coat.  I had no clue until I saw the expression on his face.  So, stay tuned...we don't know any of the details, but are considering Hawaii as a honeymoon.

Oh, and my ring?  It's perfect!  He listened to exactly what I described.  It's gorgeous - I cannot stop staring at it.